


Kangaroo Cuddles

by helsinkibaby



Category: NCIS
Genre: Babies, Community: 1-million-words, F/M, Fluff, Het, Kid Fic, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-03
Updated: 2018-05-03
Packaged: 2019-05-01 17:46:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,194
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14525931
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/helsinkibaby/pseuds/helsinkibaby
Summary: Ellie is at the end of her rope.





	Kangaroo Cuddles

**Author's Note:**

> For the one million word weekend challenge - one of my words was kangaroo
> 
> Didn’t think I’d get anything this week, then I read a chapter of a fic this morning (deadline day!) which mentioned kangaroo care and this is the result. Probably with several grammar mistakes and needing a language consult but hey ho.

It may have been the lack of sleep or the new mother hormones but Ellie couldn’t hold back her tears any longer. She’d been trying to keep them back for the last twenty minutes but now here they were, rolling slowly down her cheeks. Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath which was accompanied by a sniffle that was louder than she intended. Of course, that was enough to have Nick instantly at her side.

“You OK?” One look down at her face told him that she wasn’t and the palm of his hand landed in between her shoulder blades, slid slowly across to her shoulder. His fingers curved lightly and squeezed in what was probably meant to be a soothing motion. 

She felt anything but soothed. 

Ellie kept her voice to a whisper, both so as not to frighten Marisol and because, if she didn’t, she felt like she’d start screaming and never stop. “She won’t stop crying.” Which Nick already knew, since he’d been in the room as Ellie had been pacing trying to calm the baby. “I’ve just fed her, so she’s not hungry, I checked and she’s not wet... I’m her mother… I should be able to stop her crying.”

Nick’s hand moved from her shoulder down her back where he began rubbing circles. “Babies pick up on emotions.” His voice was low too, gentle and tender. “She can probably sense you’re getting stressed.”

“Getting?” Ellie quirked one eyebrow up at him, grateful for even that small lie.

“C’mon,” Nick said, turning her around and pointing her in the direction of the bed. “Lie down… let me take over.” He didn’t wait for her to argue, lifted Marisol from her arms and held her across his chest, her chin resting on his shoulder. The change in position stopped her tears but only for a second and then she was off again. Nick didn’t look upset at all, just nodded at the bed. “Get in.”

Ellie did as she was told, climbing under the covers. Once she did, Nick looked down at her. “I’m going to try something.” Carefully, he laid Marisol down in the middle of the bed beside Ellie, leaving plenty of space on one side.

Convinced he was going to let Marisol sleep in between them, Ellie frowned. “We can’t… the book says-”

Nick stopped her with a look. “She’s five days old, Ellie. I don’t think she’s read the book.” Ellie pressed her lips together and looked down so she heard rather than saw him sigh. “Look… just bear with me, ok?”

When she looked up again, he was pulling off his t-shirt and she was completely lost. Throwing it on his side of the bed, he leaned over Marisol and began unfastening her clothes. What he saw made his eyebrows raise. “Seriously, a onesie and a bodysuit?” 

“She might get cold,” Ellie protested. 

He made a noise that was barely above a snort of disgust. “Ellie, this apartment is tropical. Being cold will not be her problem.” He sounded more amused than cross and his eyes twinkled as he warmed to his theme. “That’s probably why she’s crying. She’s saying ‘Mama, I’m baking here’ and we can’t understand it, is that it, Mari?” He took the onesie off Marisol, the bodysuit too but, with a glance at Ellie, he pulled the legs of the onesie back onto Marisol, pulling it up to her waist. 

That much done, he sat on the bed, made himself comfortable with his back to the headboard and lifted Marisol just like he had when he’d taken her from Ellie. This time though, he settled her so that her head was against his shoulder, her chest against his, one of his arms tucked behind her knees to hold her in place, the back of the onesie falling down over it. With his other arm, he reached for his shirt, draped it over Marisol’s back and put his free hand under the shirt so that it was resting on the baby’s spine, just like it had rested on Ellie’s moments earlier, and more times than she could count. Once he was sure she was comfortable, he pressed a kiss to the top of her head and Ellie swore she felt her heart grow at least three sizes. 

At first, nothing happened, save Marisol’s cries were quieter, muffled against Nick’s chest. But then they grew quieter because she was actually calming down. Before too long, the only sound that they could hear was her breathing in and out and, not too long after that, Nick looked across at Ellie and whispered, “I think she’s out.” 

Ellie just stared at him and she knew her face was full of surprise. “How did you know to do that?” 

Nick’s grin was part proud, part embarrassed. “Jimmy,” he said and Ellie grinned because that made perfect sense. Ever since the day they’d announced her pregnancy, Jimmy had been giving Nick advice and most of the time Ellie knew that Nick was very good at tuning the other man out. “They call it kangaroo care... apparently the skin to skin contact calms them down.” He tilted his head in her direction, lips pulled up in a teasing smile. “Plus, you get to see me with my shirt off, so I figured it was a win win.” 

A burst of giggles left Ellie’s lips, hastily stifled in case she woke the baby. “Well, it doesn’t hurt,” she allowed. Chuckling, Nick leaned over, kissed her on the cheek. 

“You try to get some sleep,” he said. “I’ll sit like this a while... and I promise, I’ll put her in the crib once I’m sure she’s settled.” 

Nodding, Ellie lay down on her side, turning so that she was facing him and Marisol. Marisol’s face was turned towards her so she could see her lips pursed, cheeks that were made for pinching smooshed against Nick’s skin. She could see Nick too, the motion of his hand moving under the shirt, trailing up and down Marisol’s back, could see the way he was looking down at her, love and protectiveness written all over his face. A lump rose in Ellie’s throat and she swallowed hard against it. 

“You have to close your eyes to sleep.” Nick didn’t take his eyes off Marisol, his voice laced with humour and Ellie affected a pout that she didn’t feel. 

“I don’t want to.” She moved her hand so that it rested on his bicep, close enough to Marisol’s mouth that she could feel little puffs of air every time she breathed out. “I don’t want to miss a second of this.” 

He did look at her then, one eyebrow raised in that “woman you are crazy” look he gave her sometimes. “We’re not going anywhere,” he promised. “Sleep.” 

She smiled at that, took one last long look and closed her eyes. As she was drifting off, the last thing she heard was Nick’s voice. “Your mama, she is all kinds of crazy, Mari... but I sure do love her.”

Smiling, she took a deep, contented breath, let it out slowly. “I love you too.”


End file.
